5 Reasons why Market Research is . . . so Crucial for your Business ! ! !
TOPICS: What is Market Research? Helps you to understand Customers, Insights, ID new Opportunities, know Competitor’s Strategy, your Strategy to develop new Products & Services, Targeted Advertising & Brand Loyalty
“I believe in innovation and that the way you get innovation is you do the Research to find out what’s needed.” – Bill Gates
“No great marketing decisions have ever been made without the qualitative data of Research.” – John Scully, CEO, Apple
“ The aim of Marketing is to know & understand the Customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” – Peter Drucker, famous Business Writer
“Good Marketing makes the company look smart. Great marketing makes the customer feel smart.” – Joe Chernov, VP Mktg, Cloud Entrepreneur
“Amazing things will happen when you listen to the Customer.” –Jonathan Midenhall, CMO, AirBnB
“Today customers shop more intelligently, so marketers need to adapt or risk extinction.” –Brian Halligan, Founder, CEO, HubSpot
“Build it, and they will come” only worked in the ole days. Social Media is a “build it, nurture it, engage them and they may come and stay.” – Seth Godin, Author & Marketing expert
“These days, people want to learn before they buy, be educated instead of pitched.” – Steve Jobs, Apple
“If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.” –Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks
“Sell the problem you solve. Not the product you make.” – Jack Welch, most famous President of GE
“Business has only two functions –#1: Innovation (creating Products & services that meet a need and #2: Marketing (getting the word out to customers.” Thomas Edison
“Customers spend money when and where they feel good about the product or service.” –Walt Disney
Importance: Market Research is beneficial for every business whether startup or small and often crucial. What is it’s importance? And. Why should your business bother with it? Because market research will help you better understand & serve your customers. And who doesn’t want that – right?
What is Market Research? It involves gathering data about your target audience’s needs, wants, & preferences. If you are convinced of the importance of market research for business, let’s get more specific about the issue and discuss five reasons why you should never under-estimate the power of Market Research. Here are top 5 reasons why Market Research is vital for businesses:
#1- Marketing Research [MR] helps you to Understand how Customers think & act !!!
Top of the list is the need to understand your customer or user. The customer segmentation data can tell you who they are, their age, gender, income level, occupation, etc. You can use this to discover what problems they have and what solutions they would like to see – which will give you an idea of what kind of product or service you should be offering.
Ideal Customer. Market Research shows you how your ideal customer buying behavior (their habits). Do they buy online or offline? When do they make purchases? Where do they shop?
#2a – It gives you Insights into your Current Offerings &
#2b – Helps You Identify Opportunities & New Markets
If your Target Customer has a problem, you can use market research to learn more about it.
Awareness. Maybe your Target Customer doesn’t know what they want, or perhaps they don’t know where to get it. If you find these gaps, you can create a solution for them.
Market Research Analytics gives you a chance to discover untapped markets. For example, if you only focus on one Target Customer, you might not realize other groups of people could benefit from your product or service. Another reason to conduct market research is to measure I success of your current offerings. Are your existing products meeting your customers’ expectations? Or do you need to change something to sell more? Therefore, you should have experienced Market Research analysts in your team to uncover crucial insights from data to help you make better business decisions or hire an out-side Expert to do the research.
#3- MR gives you Insight into your Competitor’s Strategy
Identifying & understanding your competitor is as important as understanding your customer. Who’s your competition? Find out what you’re up against, how big they are, where they are located, when was their last update, what marketing strategies they employ, then their strengths & weaknesses. Compare your SWOT (strengths & weaknesses, opportunities & threats) to there’s. Where are you strong? Where are they weak? How much money do they spend on advertising? What are their best-selling products? What is your competition’s Unique Value Proposition? What sets them apart from their competitors? How does their UVP compare to yours? How do they create a compelling experience for their customers? Does their offer align with yours? What better Value can you give to your Customers? How can you be “Better, Faster, Cheaper?
Differentiation. Your goal is to differentiate your product or service from your competition, which you can achieve by creating a solid Value Proposition. All this information will allow you to strategize your marketing plan. And knowing your competitors’ strengths & weaknesses will allow you to devise strategies to beat them – at their own game.
#4- MR helps you Develop new Products & Services
Now, you have an idea of: 1) what you’d like to offer, 2) who your potential customers are, and 3) what they want. In addition, you have a good idea of your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Now you can develop new products and services based on what you learned.
Testing new products and services within your market segment makes sure you address customers’ problems in essence – wants, & needs appropriately. Make changes based on their feedback and your wisdom. Allowing your customer to offer you feedback at every step of the way enables you to fine tune your product or services, thus staying ahead of your competitors.
#5- MR helps you achieve: a) Customer-Targeted Advertising & eventually Brand Loyalty
From your Market Research – in addition to knowing your client wants & needs – you already know who they are. Market Research, therefore, saves your Advertising cost, because you only target those that really want & need your product or service.
Channels. You also know which Marketing Channels to use to reach them to avoid wasting time & money on ineffective advertising methods.
Market Research allows you to get feedback from potential buyers on your company, its products, services, pricing, & marketing strategies – which will enable you to make modifications accordingly – therefore, having a higher probability of retaining customers.
Conclusion
Overall, Market Research Analytics reduces the risk of doing business by enabling businesses to identify their target audience and understand their wants & needs better.
Strategy. It helps companies to design effective marketing campaigns and ultimately increase sales revenue. It’s crucial when starting a new business, and it’s continually needed as you continue to grow.
Market Research Analyst. We’d advise you to: 1) train the person in charge of Marketing on Research take a Market Research Analysis course, 2) get a Masters of Customer Communication online or 3) hire a Market Research Analyst to help your business with new or significantly changed products or services – as needed.
Absolutely Necessary!!! Market Research will significantly reduce the probability your company from growing less than it could or failing. You’ll prevent the wasting of money in the wrong areas – which could be causing your company to be less successful than it could be.